2. Topic: Reading Comprehension School: Minle School Teacher: Qiujuan ( 邱娟 ) Time: 24th April, 2012

3. Part Ⅰ. Find information directly from the passages.

4. The news report: Floods across the northern Mexican state of Coahuila killed at least 32 people and left 100 more missing. It was reported on Monday. The heavy rain hit the state all night last Friday, so some banks of the river were broken. Along the river about 3,000 families were seriously affected. (1) How many people died and were left missing in he floods? ( ) A. At least 32.B. At least 100. C. At least 132. D. Less than 132. Part Ⅰ --- Material 1 (2) Why were so many families seriously affected? _______________________ C Because of the heavy rain. _______________________ _________ _____________________________ __ at least more _______________________

5. 1. Pay attention to some adverbs and adverbial phrases while doing the questions about numbers. eg. at least, at most, over, more than, about, nearly, almost… 2. Try to find the key words and the most important information. Tips: Part Ⅰ

6. Comic use drawings and words to tell stories that can be funny or serious, or a little of both. Comic books grew out of comic strips in newspapers. One of the most successful early comic characters in America was Mickey Dugan, better known as “the Yellow Kid”. He wore a yellow coat that was too big for him. He was a character in a comic strip which provided opinions on the problems of cities. The Yellow Kid first appeared in 1895. The character became so popular that it was also used to sell products and to create plays. Part Ⅰ --- Material 2: Exercise

7. (1). Comic tell stories _________ with words and drawings. A. about the problems of America B. that always happen in real life C. about animals and children only D. that can be either funny or serious (2). Mickey Dugan was a famous American comic character created __________. A. in the early 19th century B. in the nineteen thirties C. in the late 19th century D. during the Golden Age of Comics Part Ⅰ --- Material 2: Exercise D C

8. Part Ⅱ. Figure out the meanings of words, phrases and pronouns.

9. Most of us agreed, however, Bill dissented. ( ) What does the underlined word mean? A. had a different opinion B. supported C. liked it very much D. didn’t show his ideas A _____ but, although, yet, while… eg. She studied hard yet still failed to pass the exam. eg. I am quite busy while my brother is playing happily. Part Ⅱ --- Material 1-(1)

10. There were happy days and sorrowful days: some days the sun shone, and some days it didn’t. What does the word “sorrowful” in this passage mean? ( ) A. sadB. exciting C. wonderfulD. pleasant A ___ _____________________________ ____ Part Ⅱ --- Material 1-(2)

11. Part Ⅱ --- Material 2 What do the underlined word and phrase mean? I decided to have some toast instead, but I burned it. I had to eat it anyway because there was no more bread. ( ) A. cook sth. on the fireB. cook it too long C. cook it too shortD. cook it very well She dropped out of school at the age of 16. She had to work to support the family. ( ) A. left school in such a hurry B. ran out of school so quickly C. come out of school with confidence D. left school without finishing studies D B ________________________ _____________ ______________________ ___

12. What do the underlined new words mean? Some animals hibernate for part or all of the winter. This is a special, very deep sleep. ( ) A. dieB. breathe C. sleep deeply D. rest I’d just started reversing ( 倒车 ) into the space when another car made its way into it. I was irritated! I opened my window and shouted at the man in the car. ( ) A. nervousB. angry C. WorriedD. embarrassed Part Ⅱ --- Material 3 _______ C B ______________________

13. What does the phrase “alter it” in this passage mean? ( ) A. make a new oneB. buy a new one C. change it D. rebuild it C Sunny’s wedding dress arrived at five o’clock in the afternoon, just seventeen hours before her marriage! Sunny tried it on and found it was too big for her and the neckline looked all wrong. Sunny was in tears. “Take it back to the dressmaker’s,” Sunny’s mother said. “She has no time to make a new one for us so she has to alter it tonight. Hurry now. Let’s go.” ____________ ____________________ ____________ _________ __________________ _____ Part Ⅱ --- Material 4

14. (1) What does the underlined word “this” refer to? ( ) A. owning a lion as a pet B. turning wild animals into pets C. owning a lot of pets D. protecting all animals (2) What does the underlined word “them” refer to? ( ) A. lions B. pets C. wild animalsD. all animals C It’s said that some day you might own a lion as a pet. Scientists might have to start turning wild animals into pets. This might be the only way to save them from dying out. B ________________________ ________________ Part Ⅱ --- Material 5

15. Part Ⅱ Tips: When you try to figure out the meaning of a word, a phrase and a pronoun in a paragraph, 1.pay attention to the conjunctions, because these conjunctions usually give you great help. 2. read the sentence before it or after it carefully. It usually gives you some hints. ( 暗示，示意 ) 3. sometimes you need to read the whole paragraph carefully with great patience, and then you can get the meaning.

16. Part Ⅲ. Find out the implications ( 暗指 ) ， the main ideas and the titles of paragraphs.

17. Part Ⅲ Tips: When you are asked to find out the implication ( 暗指 ), the main idea and the title of a paragraph, 1. you manage to read through the whole paragraph carefully, find some key sentences and catch as much information as you can. 2. find the topic sentence if it has. Usually it is the first sentence or the last sentence.

18. In which case can we use cell phones? ( ) A. I want to chat with my friend after class. B. One of the students is hurt seriously while we can’t find our teachers. C. My pen is broken, so I want to buy one at once on the phone. D. I want to book a ticket for SHE’s concert. B Different schools have different rules. Here are some of the school rules of Madison Middle School: ◆ Walk, walk, walk. Running is not good behavior in our school. ◆ Cell phones may only be used for emergencies ( 紧急情 况 ). ◆ … _________ Part Ⅲ --- Material 1 - (1)

19. Part Ⅲ --- Material 1 - (2) After the first meeting, shaking hands is unusual. However, if someone offers his or her hand by chance, one is expected to shake it. If the man you meet for the second time wants to shake hands with you, you just ______. A. refuse his hand-shaking B. take his hand C. smile but then refuse D. tell him that it’s not good for men to shake hands again B

20. What’s the main idea of this paragraph? ( ) A. Water is precious. B. There will be a serious problem. C. We should reduce our water bill. D. We should learn to save water. D The world is now using 10 times as much water as it did 100 years ago. Scientists say that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious world problem. Clean water is precious and it’s time for all of us to learn to save it! People use more water in the bathroom than any other place in the home. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth. Keep your showers short. This way you’ll save thousands of liters of water a year, and reduce your water bill. _______ _______________________________ ( ) Part Ⅲ --- Material 2

21. When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customers and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very flint embarrassment in the United States. I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive ( 敏感 ) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry. Part Ⅲ --- Material 3

22. Which one is the best title for this paragraph? ( ) A. Different countries, different customs. B. Old people, old customs. C. Different restaurants, different services. D. Differences between the old and the young. A Part Ⅲ --- Material 3

23. When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very flint embarrassment in the United States. I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive ( 敏感 ) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry. __________________ ________________________________ ______________ _____________ _____________________ ____________ Part Ⅲ --- Material 3

24. Part Ⅳ. Practise what we have learned today.

25. Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit ( 精神 ) and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How? Don’t look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special. Don’t let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself. Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. Part Ⅳ --- Material 1

26. Don’t be afraid of difficulties. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave. Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is hold it too tightly; the best way to keep love is to give it wings. Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going. Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily. Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present”. Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step. Part Ⅳ --- Material 1

27. ( ) 1. The balls of friends, family, health, and spirit are made of ___________. A. cotton B. silk C. glassD. rubber ( ) 2. The passage tells us not to ___________ because everyone is special. A. run through life so fast B. be afraid to learn C. be afraid of difficulties D. compare yourself with others to look down on your worth ( ) 3. What does the phrase “bounce back” in paragraph one mean? A. be broken B. cause to spring back when sent against sth. hard C. change its shape D. stay in the air D C B Part Ⅳ --- Exercise

28. ( ) 4. What does the underlined word “them” refer to ? A. timeB. words C. time and wordsD. time or words ( ) 5. From paragraph 5, we can infer __________. A. nothing is impossible B. you should learn to give up C. if we don’t give up, there is always hope D. although you try, nothing will change C C Part Ⅳ --- Exercise

29. ( ) 6. What’s the main idea of paragraph 1 and 2? A. A rubber ball will bounce back while a glass ball can’t. B. A glass ball is easily broken when you drop it. C. Have balance in your life in these five aspects: work, family, health, friends and spirit. D. None of the five balls is important in our life. ( ) 7. According to the passage, which is the best title? A. Nothing is impossible. B. Treat your life in a right way. C. Things you can’t do. D. Glass balls are easy to be broken. B C Part Ⅳ --- Exercise

30. Homework: 1. Finish the reading exercises. 2. List your own ideas on how to work out the questions and share them with your classmates next time.